A great many shoes are provided with laces for tightening the shoe and for securing the shoe on the foot. This is normally accomplished by drawing the laces taut and then tying the laces in a bowknot . While this is a relatively simple task which is learned by repetition, it can be quite difficult for small children and those who have physical impairments, whether temporary or permanent. A number of arrangements have been devised in the prior art to address this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,303 of Perrin et al discloses a lace winder in which the laces are wound upon a shaft within a canister and held taut. Also, hook and loop fastening closures have been used to replace laces altogether on some shoes.
U. S. Pat. No. 3,577,606 of Tyrrell discloses a string detention system for retaining shoe laces in a secured and releasable condition. In one embodiment disclosed in the Tyrrell patent, a pair of lashing buttons are fixed to the uppermost eyelets of the shoe, with each lashing button including a base and a flange positioned above the base and a plurality of resilient prongs positioned on the upper surface of the flange. In use, a lace would be wrapped about the button and looped over the prongs to secure the lace between the prongs. In another embodiment, Tyrrell discloses a button mounted above the tongue of the shoe, rather than two (2) buttons mounted on the eyelets. In each case, the buttons undesirably project upwardly and are needed to prevent the laces from becoming unraveled.
Despite these efforts and other known efforts in the art to provide a practical alternative to tying shoe laces in a bowknot, a need yet remains for a shoe having an apparatus for securing the laces of the shoe which can be manipulated by a person with limited manual dexterity or strength. It is to the provision of such a shoe that the present invention is primarily directed.